ProShare Advisors LLC Has $34.34 Million Position in The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:THG - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 222,004 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 21,936 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.62% of The Hanover Insurance Group worth $34,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of The Hanover Insurance Group by 117.6% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,944,000 after buying an additional 10,286 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $739,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in The Hanover Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,137,000. 86.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Hanover Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Bryan J. Salvatore sold 10,526 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.60, for a total value of $1,753,631.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,308,942.40. This trade represents a 28.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. Roche sold 301 shares of The Hanover Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $52,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,414 shares in the company, valued at $21,772,450. This trade represents a 0.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,027 shares of company stock worth $1,841,309 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Hanover Insurance Group Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE THG traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.44. 23,240 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 207,440. The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.66 and a 1 year high of $176.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $165.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.21.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. The Hanover Insurance Group had a return on equity of 18.01% and a net margin of 6.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. will post 14.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hanover Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. The Hanover Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 29.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised The Hanover Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays raised The Hanover Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on The Hanover Insurance Group from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hanover Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.50.

The Hanover Insurance Group Profile

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides various property and casualty insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Core Commercial, Specialty, Personal Lines, and Other. The Commercial Lines segment offers commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, workers' compensation, and other commercial lines coverage.